The Jews and Prostitution in Constantinople 1854-1922

In Rıfat N Bali's words: ''Until the first years of the Turkish Republic, there were a consierable number of non-Muslims ?Greeks, Armenians and Jews? active in all aspects of Istanbul's sex trade, whether as brothel owners, procurers or prostitutes. (...) In regard to the disproportionate minority representation in this trade, the few existing sources all agree, and this reality has also been reflected in a number of Turkish novels dealing with Beyoğlu. According to a study of Turkish novels set in Beyoğlu, of the 34 non-Muslim protagonists found in these novels, thirteen were brothel owners, while another three were prostitutes. Nevertheless, one fact that seems to have escaped all researchers and historians is that those controlling the 'white slavery' business in Istanbul in the alte 19th and 20th centuries were foreign Jews living in Istanbul. This phenomenon will be the subject of this study.''